I am planning to spend 3 days in Berlin in the end of May. I am wondering if that is too much time? And what is the best area to stay (I will most likely airbnb an apartment) that is central and/or easy to get to most touristy attractions? What should I MUST do?

I usually like cities that are active and bustling places. I love the squares in Europe where I can get a glass of wine or a cup of coffee and people watch.

Three days in Berlin too much time? This confuses me; it's a city of 3.5 million and there are endless things to do. I'll just say you should stay anyplace you can afford and is near a train station if you don't like long walks. If it's a nice day, my favorite thing to do is walk up and down the Kurfurstendamm (or Ku'damm -slang), people watch, read the newspaper, and maybe drink some coffee (if you like fancy shopping, it's very good for that, too, but I never do that).

Last edited by sunnywindy on Thu Mar 22, 2018 6:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

We were in Berlin for eight days in November. It is one of the most densely packed historical places on earth, 3 dats you won’t even scratch the surface.

We stayed at the Regent Gendarmenmarkt, a perfect hotel in a perfect location. Gendarmenmarkt Is the prettiest square in the city, perhaps the entire country. Anywhere around there / Brandenburg Tor is ideal if you want to experience east Berlin.

If you go to Museum Island and you definitely should-the Pergamon Museum stands out in my mind. It has the Gates of Ishtar (those stunning blue tile Babylonian gates with an inscription to Nebuchchadnezaar on it as well as the gigantic Altar to Zeus with all the marble steps you can sit on. Then when you come out there is a beautiful church that the royal family attended a couple of hundred years ago and a few more steps you can take a riverboat ride on the Spree which transports you through both modern and old Berlin with its stunning architecture-and if you sit on the top deck, you can have your glass of wine. How amazing is that?

As the others have noted, you won't even begin to scratch the surface in three days. My personal favorites:

- Museum Island: Berlin's museums are second to none, but the Pergamon Museum (a fantastic collection of art and antiquities from the Near East) and the Egyptian Museum (highlight: bust of Nefertiti) take pride of place for me.
- East Side Gallery: open air gallery on a remaining stretch of the wall; also check out the Wall Memorial at Bernauer Strasse.
- Oranienburger Strasse and Hackescher Markt: This used to be Berlin's Jewish neighborhood (check out the synagogue) and remains among the prettiest parts of a city that is fascinating but by far not the prettiest European capital. The Hackesche Höfe apartment buildings are worth a stroll. Note that this area turns into a red-light district after dark.
- Prenzlauer Berg and Kreuzberg are two other neighborhoods worth strolling through on a (hopefully warm) spring day. These (and Oranienburger Strasse / Hackescher Markt) will be best for the "drinking wine/people-watching" part of your trip.
- Contemporary architecture at Potsdamer Platz - Lots of steel and glass, this area was largely a no-man's land between the end of WWII and reunification.
- GDR history: There are unfortunately too many places that turn the history of the German Democratic Republic (DDR in German) into kitsch and nostalgia. Among the best places to see the reality of the history, besides the wall memorials noted above, are the Stasi Museum in the former headquarters of the Ministry of State Security; the "Alltag in der DDR" (Daily Life in the GDR) exhibition in the Kulturbrauerei in Prenzlauer Berg; and the "Tränenpalast" (Palace of Tears) next to Friedrichstrasse train station, a main border checkpoint for those entering/departing East Berlin, including long-separated family members, hence the name.
- WWII history: There are probably too many places to mention, but for me among the most moving are the Memorial to the German Resistance in the Bendlerblock, a center of the resistance within the military and where most of the plotters of the July 1944 attempt on Hitler's life were executed, as well as the Haus der Wannsee-Konferenz, the house where the Wannsee Conference (the 1942 interagency meeting to coordinate the implementation of the Final Solution) was held, the beautiful natural setting on a lake making the history even more chilling.
- Tiergarten: Beautiful park that serves as the city's green lungs.
- Ku'damm: I'd give most of Ku'damm a pass, but the nearby Kaufhaus des Westens (Department Store of the West, shortened to KaDeWe, and not on the Ku'damm itself) is a must-visit - it's the largest department store in continental Europe, with a food/deli section that must be seen to be believed.
- Another poster mentioned bus route #1 but I think he/she meant #100, which starts at Zoo train station and hits many of the landmarks. It's a double-decker; be quick to get on at Zoo station (and use your elbows ...) if you want the best view up top.
- Potsdam: A quick ride on the S-Bahn or regional trains, Potsdam is the site of Sanssouci Palace, the summer palace of Frederick the Great. I'd give the palace itself a pass, but the grounds are absolutely stunning and make for a glorious afternoon if the weather is nice. Note that Potsdam is in zone C, so you need to get a ticket that covers that zone (and not just zones A and B, which is what most tickets cover).

Berlin has excellent public transport, but the city is more spread out than any other German city, so you need to plan your itineraries a bit if you don't want to spend too much time getting between the various parts of the city.

Last edited by 02nz on Fri Mar 23, 2018 10:12 am, edited 2 times in total.

I've been there twice for 1 week each time. Three full days is very short. Buy U/S-Bahn day passes. Easier to use than the London Tube or DC Metro.

- Deutsches Historisches Museum - everything you ever wanted to know about German history, you can spend 2 hours or a day here. Everything is in English. This is a good museum but walking though it does sometimes feel like reading a college history book (in a good way).
- Sachsenhausen Internment Camp and Memorial - I recommend a day long guided tour, the memorial is sparse in keeping with the gravity of the loss of life here. You won't find many explanatory signs in the memorial but there is an important story to hear thus the recommendation for the guide.
- Bernauer Wall Park and "ghost station" photo exhibition at Nordbahnhof S-bahn station - see how the city's flourishing transportation network was disrupted by the wall and how people used the subways to survive and escape.
- Berlin Walks - 3/4 day guided walking tour around the major city sites. Very good, I've been twice and thoroughly enjoyed it. Gives you an introduction to the city. Avoid the free tours with 100+ other people. Pay the 14 euros plus tip to get a more personalized experience. You'll also get to see well preserved and Soviet era neighborhoods in East Berlin.
- German Museum of Technology - Large collection of planes, trains, etc. Fewer Americans here.
- Jewish Museum Berlin - Daniel Libeskind architectural masterpiece plus a well done history museum that should be educational for everyone.
- Stasi Museum - off the beaten path in East Berlin but still within walking distance of the U-Bahn. Lots of artifacts but also stories of the people.
- Topography of Terror - As with some of the other museums the content is presented in a text-heavy format but nowhere else in the world is the topic of Nazism addressed in a more direct way. I'd recommend going early or late to avoid crowds.
- Memorial to the Sinti and Roma Victims of National Socialism - one of the most poignant memorials I've ever been to, right up there with the JFK eternal flame of Arlington National Cemetery. The Sinti and Roma were often referred to as "gypsies".
- Allied Museum - located in the theater of a major Army garrison in the American sector. A little off the beaten path but once you walk in you'll be amazed at the memorabilia donated by the US Forces stationed here during the Cold War.
- Reichstag dome - Good view from the top, we thought it was worth the hassle of the reservation system and security check to get in.

Stayed 10-11 days was on a whirlwind the whole time. What a city!!! Stayed at the Hotel Adlon Kempinski, LOVED it. I could have lived in the gorgeous bathroom!! I couldn't imagine going there for only 3 days.

I made the mistake of only spending 4 days in Berlin last year as most people will say, you need as least 1 week or more, best place to stay is in the old east Berlin side of the City, public transportation in and around Berlin is the best experience of mixing with the locals and as all the post have good choices with things to do, have a great trip.

I've been there twice for 1 week each time. Three full days is very short. Buy U/S-Bahn day passes. Easier to use than the London Tube or DC Metro.

- Deutsches Historisches Museum - everything you ever wanted to know about German history, you can spend 2 hours or a day here. Everything is in English. This is a good museum but walking though it does sometimes feel like reading a college history book (in a good way).
- Sachsenhausen Internment Camp and Memorial - I recommend a day long guided tour, the memorial is sparse in keeping with the gravity of the loss of life here. You won't find many explanatory signs in the memorial but there is an important story to hear thus the recommendation for the guide.
- Bernauer Wall Park and "ghost station" photo exhibition at Nordbahnhof S-bahn station - see how the city's flourishing transportation network was disrupted by the wall and how people used the subways to survive and escape.
- Berlin Walks - 3/4 day guided walking tour around the major city sites. Very good, I've been twice and thoroughly enjoyed it. Gives you an introduction to the city. Avoid the free tours with 100+ other people. Pay the 14 euros plus tip to get a more personalized experience. You'll also get to see well preserved and Soviet era neighborhoods in East Berlin.
- German Museum of Technology - Large collection of planes, trains, etc. Fewer Americans here.
- Jewish Museum Berlin - Daniel Libeskind architectural masterpiece plus a well done history museum that should be educational for everyone.
- Stasi Museum - off the beaten path in East Berlin but still within walking distance of the U-Bahn. Lots of artifacts but also stories of the people.
- Topography of Terror - As with some of the other museums the content is presented in a text-heavy format but nowhere else in the world is the topic of Nazism addressed in a more direct way. I'd recommend going early or late to avoid crowds.
- Memorial to the Sinti and Roma Victims of National Socialism - one of the most poignant memorials I've ever been to, right up there with the JFK eternal flame of Arlington National Cemetery. The Sinti and Roma were often referred to as "gypsies".
- Allied Museum - located in the theater of a major Army garrison in the American sector. A little off the beaten path but once you walk in you'll be amazed at the memorabilia donated by the US Forces stationed here during the Cold War.
- Reichstag dome - Good view from the top, we thought it was worth the hassle of the reservation system and security check to get in.

Fantastic list.

We finally went to the Wansee Villa - which has featured in the Kenneth Brannagh movie "Conspiracy". There has also been a German made for TV movie, and perhaps also a British made for TV.

The meeting at Wansee Villa was an organizational one-- about implementing the Holocaust. The decision to carry it out had already been taken at higher levels and Hitler, Himmler et al. covered their tracks quite well. Lower level functionaries attended, generally, except for Rheinhard Heydreich, Governor of Reichsprotectorate Bohemia-Moravia (i.e. Czech Republic) himself, Himmler's favourite (later assassinated in Operation Anthropoid - another very good, if harrowing, movie).

But what distinguished it was that Adolf Eichmann (later kidnapped from Argentina and executed by the Israelis) disobeyed orders and kept his copy of the minutes. We know what was said, and by whom. It gives a crystal clear picture of the planning of the Holocaust.

The villa itself, in a western suburb on the Wansee lake, has none of the original furnishings. So it's not particularly atmospheric in that sense. But the exhibition on the history of the Holocaust is excellent and in several languages including English.

Just to walk in those rooms, and feel that weight of history. How the whole thing was planned-- the enormity of the crime against humanity, planned by bureaucrats:

We also went on a couple of "Berlin Bunker Tours". There' s a local society and they do tours in English. One was of a WW2 air raid shelter (built for something like 3000 people but wound up harboring 8000, as the Russians closed in). Another was an underground hospital prepared for nuclear war (and still actively maintained for such).

It's hard to think of a city so steeped in its history. I mean Rome, Paris, London have all been cities for much longer, have more years of history. But Berlin history comes at you from every street corner.

I should mention both Berlin Zoos, the Tierpark one (Berlin Zoo station) in the West, and the Stadtpark one in the old East Berlin.

These are both excellent Zoos with a lot of important work in animal conservation. E.g. in the Stadtpark the Cranes - never seen so many species of crane.

The Museum of the German-Soviet war in Pankow, an eastern suburb. This was a German military engineers school pre WW2, post WW2 it was the HQ for the Soviet Zone of Berlin with a museum of the Liberation of Berlin.

Now it is a Museum trying to reflect post 1990 sensibilities. The exhibits are marked in German and Russian (there might be an English language version you can borrow from the desk). About the relationship between the 2 countries in the 20th Century, and the terrible wars. It ends with the conference room in which the surrender was signed (they flew in officials from the Western Allies for the ceremony). The bloodiest war in human history (so far) and here it ended (in the West).

I am a big one just for walking around cities and would suggest Prinzlauer Berg (19th c - under communism it was the sort of Greenwich Village of rebels to the regime. It has gentrified pretty heavily now, but still worth a wander). And Mitte, particularly the northern part (the old Jewish quarter).

To attract more settlers to the settlement of Berlin, the Prussian ruler gave unusual freedom to Jews. Thus, many Jews moved there from Eastern Europe (where they were heavily encumbered under the Russian Tsar amongst others) and from other parts of western Europe. It was one of the first cities to allow Jews to live outside the ghetto, for example. Making the events of 1933-45 all the more tragic. There is again a (small) Jewish community in Berlin, but the majority of immigrants to Berlin who are not from Western Europe (there's plenty of Brits, Italians etc.) seem to come either from Turkey or from other communities in the Middle East.

By contrast I felt the Ku'dam, the old heart of West Berlin, was a bit disappointing-- the centre of the city has, post 1990, moved back towards Mitte.

The new (station) EDIT Hauptbanhoff is pretty impressive.

I have not seen the AEG building, which I think is actually still a factory (in London it would be a shopping mall or luxury flats) but it is quite important in the history of modernist architecture.

A canal tour is very good (we couldn't follow the loudspeaker announcements, but enjoyed it nonetheless). Some people queue up to go to the top of the Reichstag (Parliament) but we didn't bother.

Potsdammer Platz is basically overrun with traffic, but it was rubble in 1990 and there are some famous architect designed corporate HQs etc. that have sprung up so there is a bit of spectacle there.

The Old Town, a reconstructed medieval town that the communists built in the 1980s for tourism (central Berlin was flattened first by the Royal Air Force, and then by the Soviet army fighting door by door, window by window), is not that impressive when you get up close.

is a fantastic documentary of the city. Says it's not NTSC (Region 0) DVD format ie US compatible. But you might be able to find it on Youtube. Matt Frei is/ was the BBC's Washington correspondent, but his father was a journalist in Berlin during the Cold War and he grew up there.

The Tom Hanks film "Bridge of Spies" was largely not filmed in Berlin but gives a flavour for life in East Berlin at the time the Wall went up.

Last edited by Valuethinker on Fri Mar 23, 2018 10:49 am, edited 1 time in total.

Small niggle but the "Digital Concert Hall" is the orchestra's online streaming platform. The actual physical concert hall is the Philharmonie, which hosts the Berlin Philharmonic but also many performances by others, including the Staatskapelle Berlin, which has Daniel Barenboim as principal conductor.

If you're on a budget, I don't think the exact location of your hotel/airbnb matters too much - public transportation in Berlin is excellent. When visiting last year for three days I realized that it is also a great city for biking. Probably the fastest way to get around (and see the city at the same time). Like others said, three days will barely scratch the surface.

We were in Berlin for 1 week last summer and wished we had stayed longer.

One activity that stands out was a day trip to Potsdam and the Charlottenburg Palace. We took an S-bahn train to the edge of Berlin then a bus to the ‘Bridge of Spies’ and walked across into Potsdam. Then spent some time having lunch in Potsdam center and walked from there to the Charlottenburg complex. Potsdam is a charming small town, with a nice pedestrian main shopping street. The gardens in Charlottenburg were beautiful.

We stayed in an air bnb in Prenzlauer Berg and highly recommend staying in that part of the city. Lots of interesting small shops and restaurants and (if you are traveling with children) many fantastic playgrounds.

Finally, make sure to eat lots of ice cream from the many ice cream parlors in the city - it is fantastic quality and cheap. In fact we found overall that Berlin was a very affordable place to visit (housing, food, transport and tickets to museums were all pretyy modestly priced).

A great city to visit, especially if you are into history. If you go to Potsdam, in addition to the Sansouci palace of Frederick the Great, you can tour the Cecilienhof, where the July 1945 Potsdam conference was held. When I was there in 1996, the surrounding neighborhood, in East Germany during the Cold War, had many stately homes which looked very decrepit and badly in need of repair. Would like to see what it looks like now.

After three fascinating days in Berlin, I'll bet you'll want to go back too see what you couldn't fit into your schedule. Enjoy.

since you only have a limited amount of time in Berlin, and there is so much to see, I would recommend taking a bike tour. We did this as a family last year, and it was fantastic. I’d recommend doing it on your first day, then going back to explore some of your favorite sites later. You cover much more ground than a walking tour, and are much closer than a bus tour.

- Allied Museum - located in the theater of a major Army garrison in the American sector. A little off the beaten path but once you walk in you'll be amazed at the memorabilia donated by the US Forces stationed here during the Cold War.

I'm returning to Berlin for the third time next month (first time was summer 1990 when you could hire a chisel and chip at the wall - harder than it would seem). The above museum is on my to-do list. Coincidentally it is near my favorite Berlin Biergarten, Alter Krug (https://alter-krug-berlin.de/).

I must admit the area around the Brandenburg Gate was tacky. It's dwarfed by buildings, incl. the American Embassy, and people treat the abstract Holocaust memorial as a playground.

Places to stay: I always get Airbnbs in Schoneberg. Bowie lived there.

I very much enjoyed Berlin, I was there in 2013 and again in 2016. During my first visit, I bought a two day pass for one of the Circle Tours, the so-called hop-on hop-off buses. It was a great introduction to the city. In 2016, I used the subway system instead on focused on the things I missed in 2013.

Some recommendations.

Checkpoint Charlie is an important historical site. The Checkpoint Charlie Museum is right next to it and well worth the visit. It gives a good context for the Cold War.

The Bundestag. I waited in line for probably 2 1/2 hours to get my reservation. It was well worth it. I enjoyed walking the ramp to the top of the glass dome.

Postdam. Well worth taking the tour and exploring this town that had the summer palaces for the Prussian Kings and the site of the famous Potsdam Conference after WWII. There is a Brandenburg Gate there as well. Over 20,000 Soviet troops were stationed here during the Cold War. I got to walk across the famous "Bridge of Spies". This was the epicenter of the Cold War.

The Topography of Terrors. A good history of the horrors of the Nazi regime.

I really enjoyed eating at KaDeWe at the Buffett on the top floor. I have done this twice. Food is great but not cheap. Think I spend 25 Euros each time.

The Concert at Charlottenburg. You get a nice meal and a wonderful concert afterwards. Highly recommended.

The Neues Museum on Museum Island. If you like Egyptian stuff, this is a great place to go. Didn't have the time to explore the other museums.

The Tiergarten, which are the lungs of Berlin. A huge park.

The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. The Bundestag is very close. You literally can feel the history here. President Kennedy gave his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech here and it was here that President Reagan told Gorbachev to "tear down this wall."

What I will say about Berlin is that there are many things to do here and I hardly scratched the surface. It is also surprisingly affordable.

I must admit the area around the Brandenburg Gate was tacky. It's dwarfed by buildings, incl. the American Embassy, and people treat the abstract Holocaust memorial as a playground.

Kids playing (celebrating life) among 2711 abstract coffins/tombstones commemorating millions of murdered victims all overlooked by the US Embassy with the site of Hitler's bunker a few yards away? It is thought provoking for sure. What a summary of humanity and 20th century history.

Only other thing I'd add that won't help OP: my favorite time to go to Berlin is around Thanksgiving. It's not too cold and there are hardly any tourists, although I hesitate to reveal my secret! Plus the Christmas markets are up so you can easily live off wurst, beer, and a crepe for about 10 euros per day!

Thank you all. This is great information. Based on this I am going to change the booking to add more days. But it will be total 5 days. Can't do more than that. But it seems I will want to go back anyway.

Thank you all. This is great information. Based on this I am going to change the booking to add more days. But it will be total 5 days. Can't do more than that. But it seems I will want to go back anyway.

Good news! Buy a 5 day U/S-Bahn pass along with the ideas above and you'll do great.

Definitely go to the Stasi Museum and Wall Memorial sites over the DDR Museum on the banks of the Spree. DDR museum is highly commercialized, very small and stiflingly overcrowded. Stasi Museum is in the actual former HQ of the Stasi and covers much of the same material.

I absolutely LOVED Berlin. Hands down the most interesting city I've ever visited. The history is amazing. The modern day culture there is amazing. It's all around incredible IMO. I hope to go back some day. We spent like 5-6 days there in early 2016 before embarking on a tour of the rest of the country. We are going back to Germany in June for a family trip (visiting some distant relatives). Won't be stopping in Berlin though:(